Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Use Caution with Advice from Editors & Agents

Some times new writers will hang on my every word. If I think about what is
happening I can be frightened with that responsibility. Yes I've been in the
book business for many years and worked in many different areas—yet I do not
always get it right. In fact, no one does.

I understand that some new ideas are fragile and at a
conference, a writer takes a risk to present their idea and get your
feedback. At these meetings, we often have seconds to size up an idea and look
over a few pages of writing, then give some feedback. I've been in this
situation many times in the past and will be in this situation a number of times
in the coming weeks at different conferences. I understand the serious nature of
my responsibility in these situations yet I also know that I'm not always on
target with my advice.

At some conferences, I have a day full of back-to-back 15 minute sessions
with different writers. I'm eager to help these writers with their questions and
book ideas. As an acquisitions editor, I'm actively looking for the right nonfiction or fiction
books that I can champion to my publication board at Morgan James Publishing and
eventually bring into print. Other times I'm giving the writer some
encouragement or insight into their proposal or their book idea.

As a writer, I can recall hanging on every word from a respected editor. I wrote down the feedback and went home
then carried out each instruction. Then when I returned to this editor, he did
not recall that he had ever seen the project in the first place. I appreciated
his honesty but at the time I didn't understand it because that brief
conversation meant so much to me.

Here's some keys as you get advice from different publishing
professionals:

1. Who gave you this advice? Are they new to the profession or have they
spent years in the trenches of publishing?

2. What time of day did you receive it? If at the end of a long day of
meetings, maybe it was not perfectly on target.

3. Are you hearing the same counsel from others? If you hear the same general
advice from several people, then it may be worth taking and changing.

4. What is your own mind and heart telling you about the advice? Some people
stumble around with a manuscript for years because they are blind or do not
accept the advice they have been given about it. Others are swayed with every
bit of advice to move in different directions and never get published because
their perfectionist tendencies make their material “never good enough.”

My overall insight is for balance. Sometimes you will take the advice and
other times you shrug it. Every
editor and agent is off the mark at times and you should not hold that over
the person but understand and move on. You have to take the advice with a grain
of salt.

Recently I received a lengthy email from a writer who recalled in great
detail a fifteen minute session with me from at least six or seven years ago. As
I read his description of the details, I didn't remember anything about
that session—yet I could see that it was significant to this writer. My only
response was to apologize and encourage the writer to move forward. To my
knowledge, that book idea was never published.

Every writer needs to follow their passion for their story and their
writing—yet be open to learning something new along the journey. Continue to
grow in your craft and storytelling, and be willing to shrug the advice from an
editor or agent. It
might be the difference between getting your book published or keeping it on
your computer.

1 Comment:

Excellent advice, Terry. Advice to take because it is balanced. I especially appreciate your emphasis on the humanity of the advice-giver. As those who give advice, we can all make mistakes in the advice we give. As those who receive advice, we can all make mistakes in taking the advice given. Bottom-line, the advice must bear witness with our spirits. If we don’t feel right about the advice, we shouldn’t take it. Just because the advice-giver is more experienced or well-known doesn’t always mean the advice is valid. Second and third opinions can help clarify the validity or lack thereof of the advice. As Scripture points out, “in the multitude of counselors there is safety” (Proverbs 11:14).